Be My Escape
by Sheena Aneehs
Summary: [AU]In the Los Angeles Supernatural Unit, it is the job of a chosen few to police the demonic side of society. But when children are involved, the job becomes that much more important.
1. Chapter I

"_Had a bad day again_

_She said I would not understand_

_She left a note and said, _

'_I'm sorry I had a bad day again'" - Fuel_

Chapter One

I didn't feel anything, save for the immense force hitting my leg which caused me to fall to the slick, tile floor. I caught myself with my hands. I knew what had happened. I'd been shot. I've been shot too many times in my career to not realize what was going on. The veins in my leg began to throb, but as long as I didn't look at my wound, I could ignore the pain for a little longer. I heard screaming above me and more gunshots. I knew that I had to find cover. I forced myself up on my arms and looked around. I flipped my hair out of my face and saw my roommate, Kagome, reaching out her hand from behind the chip display. I crawled towards her as she made room for me behind our flimsy camouflage.

I forced myself up further into a sitting position. It was taking more effort than it should have. "I think I've had too many cups of ramen lately," I panted. I sincerely hoped that it was true. A severed artery in any situation was never good.

"Sango! Your…leg! It's…bleeding!" Kagome was gasping between each word. I turned my head towards her rapidly. "You're having an attack, aren't you?" She nodded. "You don't have your inhaler with you, do you?"

She tried to form words, but couldn't. It was getting difficult for her to breathe. She struggled with herself for a moment, but she couldn't fight the muscle contractions in her lungs. In the end she could only whimper and shake her head no.

I threw my head back against the chips, hearing the crunch of cellophane in my ears. This was too much trouble just to fill a prescription. Normally, Kagome didn't have trouble with her asthma. But she had gotten the flu this week. In her weakened state, she'd become more susceptible to an attack, and the idiots waving a gun around the grocery store weren't helping matters.

Kagome handed me her scarf between gasps and I made a make shift tourniquet. I hadn't planned on jumping up and trying to be a hero. But Kagome couldn't breathe, and my artery was probably nicked, so it looked like I'd have to.

I glanced back and forth, surveying the end of the aisles for any form of escape. Why do they always have to put the cough syrup at the back of the store? In addition to the hysteric woman on my right, there was a tall, black haired man, squatted against the Pepsi counter on my left. He was handsome. His shoulder length hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, revealing the two earrings on his left ear and the one on his right. His black tee shirt shrank against him as he attempted to hoist up a white-haired hanyou in an old orange blazer. They hanyou was looking increasingly dizzy. Sensory overload. It happened too often to hanyous and lesser demons in tight spots. The combination of gun residue and blood was proving too much for him. The black haired man looked as if he was loosing a battle with gravity as the hanyou's head rolled more and more.

Given my other option, I tried to get his attention. He would have to be my only help. I snapped my fingers at him and he flashed his large eyes at me. I stalled for a moment. His eyes were a startling shade of blue. No, not blue, purple. A deep shade of purple that I had never seen in a human. Bringing myself back to my senses, I beckoned him closer. We both looked down the aisle that separated us, and he flashed a look over his shoulder. Finding no one, he crossed over, gracefully pulling the hanyou with him.

"Have you seen how many there are?" I asked as he situated the hanyou behind Kagome. Kagome's breaths were getting more shallow and rapid. He draped the hanyou's arm around her waist, trying to help her keep warm. I noticed that she was crying. I reached out and grabbed her hand; I wouldn't let her die in a grocery store.

"Two, but are you in any condition to do anything about it?" He had balanced himself in a crouching position in front of me. He was at least 6'1" with the way he crouched over me. I looked up into his violet eyes. There was worry in them, maybe even pity. Silly little girls shouldn't play with bad men, they might get hurt.

I looked back at Kagome and gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm a taiji-ya, I'll be fine." I looked to the woman on my right, who was still screaming. I reached underneath my jacket and grabbed my Glock 21. I checked my magazine; thirteen rounds full. As I snapped the magazine back into place, the woman screamed louder. I looked back up at the man in front of me; his eyes were now twice as big. Boys seemed get a little intimidated by girls who carried more hardware than they did. "What?" I uttered, rolling my eyes. After all the times Kagome had begged me not to carry the gun, she's better be glad that I had it now.

My need to carry a gun stemmed from the work I did. I was a taiji-ya, a demon exterminator. In my profession, there was always someone or something that you had to watch out for. I was a firm believer in Murphy's Law; any thing that can go wrong, it will. If I wasn't prepared for everything, people could get hurt. I had come from a long line of taiji-yas. My ancestors were taiji-ya before me and they had fought the demons of their time. But today's demons were different from the ones my grandparents had fought, different from the ones my parents had fought. They had been contracted to kill a demon, money exchanged, no questions asked. But that was no longer the way it was done. There were rules I had to follow, channels I had to go through to exterminate demons. I was glad for that. I never wanted to be considered a bounty hunter, and law abiding demons had rights too. But this was just two punks who decided to shoot up a grocery store for a couple hundred bucks. Their rights, as far as I was concerned, flew out the window with the first bullet.

"Hey dog-boy…Hey you!" I grabbed the hanyou's leg and gave it a sharp shake. Blurred amber eyes opened and looked accusingly at me, angry because I had woken him up, or that I had called him "dog-boy". Either way, I really didn't care. At least he was lucid enough to be in a rotten mood. "Stay awake," I pointed forcibly at him. "You protect her; do not let anything happen to her." He nodded slowly and tightened his arms around Kagome, pulling her closer into the protection of his body. I felt bad entrusting my best friend to a stranger, but I didn't have a choice at the moment.

"Where are they," I asked as I pulled off my jacket.

He straightened his back and glanced down the aisle way to my left. His strong jaw jutted out as he stretched his neck to check over my left shoulder. His black hair, pulled back so neatly, shone in the light. I felt blush being to rise in my cheeks. Trying to regain some composure, I slowed my breathing for a moment. Then I internally kicked my self. I should not be checking out a guy at a time like this. I must be getting too comfortable in these situations, which is a really bad thing.

"There's one walking down this way." Keeping his voice low, he never took his eyes off of the imbecile. I don't think he's the head of this little operation though. He's just strolling along, eating cookies. I don't even think that the safety is off on his gun."

"Great," I grunted as I sat up on my good leg. I took my jacket off and handed the stranger the set of handcuffs from my belt. "Then I think I have an idea…"

…………

He wasn't tall, at most an inch or two shorter than me. He was young too; eighteen maybe nineteen. His Led Zeppelin tee shirt stretched over his round stomach and threatened to burst at the seams. He brushed the stray cookie crumbs from his shirt, and then continued to stuff more in his mouth. He had little hair on his head; in fact if you disregarded his thin eyebrows, he only had three hairs on his head. He also had a dazed look on his face, like he'd just fallen out of bed. He was singing as he approached me. I couldn't make it out at first, but then I realized what he was singing.

"…How come I never hear you say, I just wanna be with you…I guess you never felt that way…"

I recognized the song. Kagome would sing that song religiously at work, as she sat at her computer in the lab. I glanced back Kagome's shuddering form, still struggling for breath. I inhaled slowly, and hoped that my helpful stranger's eyes were as quick as they were pretty.

"Hey, big boy," I whispered. His eyes grew round and large as he spotted me on floor next to him. I took the moment and rammed my Glock dangerously close to his groin. "Be a good little boy and come down here." He started to kneel, a little too quickly for my liking. "Slowly," I warned him, "And place that gun next to my leg." There was fear in his eyes, and I grinned. I had hardly met male, human anyway, that wasn't afraid when you threatened his manhood. Ah, the glories of being a woman.

His knees gave in gently to the weight of his body, and he cautiously placed the gun on the ground near my wounded leg. My partner for the moment grabbed his wrists from behind him and handcuffed them behind his back. Then he picked up the discarded weapon.

"You know how to use one of those?" I still had my gun pointed at the would-be thief. I noticed that there was a growing dark spot on the front of his jeans. "Good," I thought, "that will teach him for singing while people are bleeding." Having tortured him to my satisfaction, I lowered my gun.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't do any good." He clicked the magazine into back into place. "It's empty"

I scoffed. "The leader planned it that way." I racked my brain. "Never give any power to your underlings"

"What are you thinking?" I looked up and saw him watching me. He looked unsure, a little scared of me. Nothing new. He should have just been happy that he caught me on light day.

"This will only work if he's close." I needed to concentrate, so I started to chew on my thumb. I was starting to get a little dizzy and I was scared I was going to loose consciousness soon. "He's going to have to start looking for his partner soon, right?" I gestured to the kneeling, handcuffed boy; who was now crying. "What do you say we speed him up a little?" I reached over and gave Baldie a twist on the nipple.

"Owww!" Baldie squealed.

"What the hell…" He looked at me baffled as I grabbed him and rolled us into the next aisle. I ended up on top of him, out of breath. His violet eyes were round with surprised and a lecherous grin began to slowly spread across his face. I sighed and elbowed him in the ribs as I rolled off of him.

"Can you lift me up there?" I pointed to the top of the Pepsi display as I lay on my back in the center of the aisle. He nodded and helped me to my feet. My head began to swim, however, and I fell into his arms.

"Are you sure?" He steadied me, and searched my face. There was that worried look again.

"Yeah, just lift me up there and try not to get blood all over you." I turned and faced the mountain of soft drinks. I balanced my weight on my injured right leg, while he grabbed the left to elevate me. I balanced myself on the rows of bottle tops and waited. I prayed that he would come soon. My vision was beginning to tunnel and my head felt like it weighed fifty pounds. I was going to be unconscious soon, and then I wouldn't be able to save any body.

"Manten? What the hell?" A skinner version of Baldie, with a lot more hair, ran underneath me, gun pointed in front of him as if he knew what he was doing. "How'd you let this happen? I honestly can't leave you to do anything." He pointed his gun accusingly at his partner. "All I ask you to do is watch these people while I get the cash." He paused as he noticed the handcuffs. Bringing his gun back to defensive mode, he asked "Where are they?" "Hiten, I…" Manten cried as I dove.

My elbow connected with the back of Hiten's head. I wedged my Glock in between his ribs as my body sandwiched his to the ground. I heard his gun go spinning across the floor. I looked up long enough to see that my handsome partner had retrieved the gun and was now pointing it at Hiten's head. .

…………

A/N- I'm in the process of revamping this story a little. I've changed the title to something a little more mature, and hopefully made this story flow a little better. And hopefully I'll keep on this story and actually finish it. I've also changed my pen name…just for kicks.


	2. Chapter II

"_In this moment synchronized inside, _

_Words that paint a legacy of life._

_A different picture will unfold, _

_A healing finds its way through."- Falling Up_

Chapter Two

I woke up shivering. Why was I so cold? I should be in warm, albeit scratchy, hospital sheets by now. Sensing a light over head, I slowly opened my tired eyes. The lone light that shown overhead, allowed a halo of light to shine around me. Turning my head slowly from side to side, I could see my hands in the open light. I flexed my right hand, and then the left. They seemed to be working fine. I turned them over and felt of the surface I was laying on. This wasn't scratchy sheets, this wasn't dingy supermarket tile. This was marble. Cool obsidian sucked whatever warmth was in my hand and held it inside the stone. If this was what was making me cold, I needed to get off of it. Exhaling heavily, I summoned strength out of my weary frame and pushed my self upright. I sat up as slowly as possible, but the change still left my head spinning. I steadied myself and took notice of what I was wearing.

"Why am I in underwear?" I said aloud, shocked at what I saw. The lingerie was a matching demi bra and boy shorts in black lace. I didn't know if I was more shocked by finding myself in underwear or finding myself in underwear that I had no memory of buying.

As I attempted to cover myself with my unbound hair, I felt my heart pick up speed. My adrenaline was now pumping. Where exactly am I? I looked around, but saw only darkness. Something was not right here. I stood up and felt no pain. The adrenaline must be pumping so hard, I can't feel the bullet wound. I reached down to the back of my thigh, where the bullet had entered. There was no entrance point; there was no bruising, there was nothing. I whipped around to be sure, but there was nothing. Not even the slightest indention.

"You look wonderful." I stopped chasing my tail for a moment, and looked towards masculine voice that was my company. He was standing behind me and he was shirtless. I turned my face away in some small attempt to mask my embarrassment of being seen nearly naked and seeing him in the same state. I felt a warm hand cup my chin softly. As he pulled me back to face him, I looked into his eyes. Those deep, amethyst eyes calmed me, and I was no longer embarrassed. I felt a conflict build inside me; my sexual side, my heart was trying to fight for control. I had never felt at such ease with a man as I felt with him. And I wanted to test this, to see how far my comfort would go.

He stepped back a step and began to look me up and down slowly. Had this been any other time, I would have beaten him till the blood came. But the way he looked at me stopped me in my tracks. Normally, when guys look at me in such a manner, there is a ravaged look in them. They admire my body and think in their perverted minds what I can do with it. He didn't look at me like that. He looked at me with sweet comprehension, the way you look when you are admiring a beautiful piece of art or a sunset. He looked as if he was trying to lock every inch of my body away in his mind.

Any reservations I held in my mind were gone now as my heart took over. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to feel his hands on me, wanted to be wrapped in his arms and feel his breath warm my neck. I reached out my hands and placed them on his chest. The firm muscles underneath his skin tightened at my touch. My hands trailed down his taut stomach and he sighed as my hands hit just below his navel. He wrapped one arm around my neck and the other around my waist, pulling me close to him. Soft kisses fell on my neck and a hand gently combed through my hair. I closed my eyes and rolled my fingertips into the waist line of his jeans.

'What am I doing,' I thought as I became overwhelmingly horrified by my actions. 'I don't do this!' I tried to pull myself away, but my body wouldn't respond. My body stayed melded to his as my mind desperately screamed to run away.

His teeth nipped my neck and my eyes opened wide at the surprise mixture of pain and pleasure. I let out a small sigh, and smiled as the cries of retreat from my mind dissipated. For once in my life, I was giving in to the carnal, sexual side of my body, and I liked it. I actually smiled as his large hands cupped my butt and began to gently rub. I knew that this action deserved a slap, but I was enjoying myself.

"Sango…Sango…" He whispered my name over and over in my ear. With each breathy mention of my name, chills ran down my spine and left me gasping for air. My hands relinquished their hold on his jeans, and moved up to wrap around his neck. I wanted to cry out his name over and over again, revel in the exchange of our heat, and never let go of him.

But I couldn't think of his name.

And he didn't know mine.

My body stiffened as my mind raced back into control. I pushed myself away from him and watched as he slowly faded from my sight. My right leg gave out and the pain returned. Blackness began to fill my sight and the tears flowed freely down my face. This was a dream. A wonderful dream that had allowed me to forget everything on the outside world, everything that had brought me pain, bitterness, and hatred. A wonderful dream that was ending.

But though the darkness was strangling sight from my eyes, I still felt him there. And he kept whispering my name.

"Sango…Sango…"

…………

"Sango…Sango…" A distinctly male voice brought me to my senses. I felt the lumpy hospital bed underneath me and I knew that this time, I wasn't dreaming. Though I was awake, I kept my eyes shut. I wanted the male voice to belong to my violet eyed stranger; I wanted to know that my dream was not in vain and that I had someone who cared for me, willing me to wake up. But I had a sinking suspicion that if I were to open my eyes, I would be let down.

"Sesshomaru, is she awake yet?" I smiled in my feigned sleep. It was Kagome, there was no mistaking that. I knew that if no one else would be at my side, my friend, my sister, would be there.

Kagome and I had attended graduate school together. I was attending the University of California, Davisto receive my Masters in Demon Law, while Kagome was working to finish her Masters in Forensic Sciences. Kagome and I met at a seminar about "The Structure of Demon Hierarchy in the 21 Century". Kagome was searching for more applications for her degree; I was looking for extra credit from the professor who was teaching the seminar. Kagome's friendly nature had sought me out, and though I'm admittedly not the most open person, we became fast friends. When she had found out that I had lost all of my family, Kagome being the bleeding heart she is, moved in with me so I wouldn't be alone. We had since adopted each other as the sister we'd never been given.

"I think she's just about to come to. Kagome, come and take my place. I sincerely doubt that I am the first person she wants to see." Sesshomaru was right. I couldn't completely put him in the bad guy category, but something about him gave me a feeling of discomfort. Perhaps it was because I viewed him as a ruthless inu youkai, an emotionless, striking man who you felt could stare you into oblivion. Perhaps it was because he was my boss, and we were constantly at odds. Either way, the man was too hard to read, and at times it appeared that he didn't have a heart. Kagome would chide me for saying that; saying that the reason we butted heads so often, was because we were a lot alike. We were just selective with our emotions, though he was almost always stoic, where I could be more passionate. She had recently informed me that he had in fact adopted a beautiful little girl, whom he adored. Kagome was always quick to point out the good in people, something that I had trouble with. Though Sesshomaru and I were constantly in heated arguments, I was glad he had come.

I let out a soft moan and opened my eyes. The fluorescent lights assaulted my eyes, and I blinked furiously to focus. I suddenly became very aware of the smell of antiseptic and latex, and remembered that I hated hospitals. I could sense the death that lingered there. I encountered death too often in my work; I didn't like being around it more than necessary. And being in a place where death was considered one of the norms, made my skin crawl.

As I shifted my eyes away from the glare of the lights, I noticed a beautiful bouquet of flowers on my left. There presence provided me with a pleasant moment of relief from the hospitals sights and smells. I was surprised to notice that someone had the good taste to pick my favorite flowers. The blue and white irises were complemented by the full, yellow daffodils that were out of season, and probably cost a fortune. As I pondered who had given me such a thoughtful gift, I turned to my right and found a smiling Kagome.

"Sango, I'm so glad that you are awake." As I raised myself into a sitting position, she rubbed my right hand; carefully passing her fingers over the IV on the back of my hand. "You've been asleep for so long."

I interlaced my fingers and attempted to pop all the joints that had lain still for too long. As I reached up towards the ceiling, I felt the vertebrae in my back crack in several places as my fingers popped. The IV needle in my hand rolled as my joints reset themselves, and that was admittedly painful. "How long have I been asleep?" I yawned as I dropped my hands back into my lap. My mouth felt stale and clouded. Nothing was worse than morning breath, except for multiple-morning breath.

"Two days…" Sesshomaru replied. He was standing by the door, leaning uncomfortably against the frame. He was wearing a dark grey Armani pin-striped suit. A light silver button up shirt was underneath the jacket, and I observed that the top three buttons of his shirt were undone. A matching silver tie hung loosely around his neck. Sesshomaru was always immaculately dressed, never without a suit, never without a tie. However, there he stood in a wrinkled suit and tie undone. He had been extremely stressed about something. It couldn't have been me. The only thing that would make him worry like that would be the thought of loosing yet another member of his dwindling force. I paused. How close had I come to not waking up?

He smoothed his waist length silver hair back with a graceful flick of his hand. He arched an eyebrow as our eyes met. His normal golden eyes flashed with the fire of his inu heritage. His challenge had been stated and I complied. A staring match began and tension flooded into the room. Our auras sparked and hissed as they met. But I quickly realized how weak this hospital visit had made me as I soon found myself tiring mentally. I forced my aura to retreat and our battle was stalled for a moment. I wasn't really backing down; just saving the authority struggles till I was back on both feet. Sesshomaru's eyes returned to their normal, icy amber and his aura retreated. "The doctors say that you need at least another day of rest, so I expect to see you back at work in two days." He coolly pushed himself of the wall and turned towards the exit.

"Sesshomaru…" I leaned forward in a half-hearted attempt to stand. He paused and regarded me once again with an eyebrow raised. I instantly regretted what I was about to say. "Thanks for coming." There, I said it. I relaxed back onto the sterilized pillows and waited.

He gave a small huff, and a small smile. He then continued out the door. "I still expect you back at work in two days." He was pushing my buttons again.

"Thanks boss," I mumbled as I gave him a mock salute. Kagome stifled a giggle. I turned to her and smiled. She was curled up in the hospital chair with her knees hugged into her chest. She was wearing her favorite flannel pajamas, the ones with the high heels on them. Had she spent the night here?

"Kagome," I asked hesitantly, "How close did I come?" I watched as her bright face became dark and sad. She opened her mouth to say something, and then paused. Inhaling sharply, she began again.

"You lost a lot of blood. The paramedics didn't arrive until fifteen minutes after you knocked out the gunman. When the paramedics saw you, they said that you should have been dead." A lone tear fell down her face. She hastily wiped it away. "The doctors said that if you hadn't been in such good physical condition, you wouldn't have…"

"I understand." I said quietly. All my life, I had faced demon fight after demon fight. I thought I was able to handle anything. And then some punk with a gun almost takes me out in one shot without even really trying. My heart felt heavy with humbleness, something my proud nature would rarely let me express.

I felt two warm arms wrap around my shoulders. "I wanted to thank you for saving me." I felt Kagome's tears warm the thin material of my hospital gown. I reached up and petted her head. "Shh…" I whispered in my best attempt to console her. "Everything's fine now."

She held on me for a few seconds longer, and then returned to her seat, wiping her face and smiling. "I have a surprise for you," she beamed. As I cocked my head in question, she searched the floor for something. I grunted as she placed her enormous, yellow back pack in my lap. "Wha…" I stuttered. I heard a muffled mew. Realizing what my surprise was, a small head popped out of the top backpack. I yelped with glee as my demon cat, Kirara, pounced onto my shoulder. I buried my face in her soft, cream fur. She purred and snuggled close to me. "Thanks Kagome!" I sat the cat down in my lap and watched as she curled up in my lap. I leaned back and began to scratch Kirara's ears. "So care to explain who sent me the flowers? Did your mother send them?"

Kagome flashed a devious smile as she stood up and walked around my bed to the bouquet. "Oh no, she's in New York. Moving my younger brother into his dorm remember?" She plucked the card from the plastic fork.

"Right…" I was now more confused. "Then who? I know that it wasn't the department. They're too cheap to send me a card, let alone a stunning bouquet like this." Kagome dangled the card in front of my face. When I reached up to snatch it, she pulled it back to her body, and began to dance tauntingly around the room.

"You've become quite a hero over this little incident, you know? You've had many admirers come to see the 'Great Sango' who saved the Piggly Wiggly from disaster." She was mocking me now. My face flat lined and I glared at her. She caught the glare in mid-pirouette and halted her dance. "Oh pooh, you're no fun." She sat down dejectedly in her chair and handed me the card.

Beautiful calligraphy spelled out 'Sango' on the front of the letter. I flipped the envelope over and examined the wax seal on the back. A cursive 'M' was imprinted in the red wax. I absentmindedly fingered the edges of the envelope as Kagome prattled on.

"…he came every day, and he brought his friend once. He was cute. But it was just that one day. I've never seen ears like that, you know…"

Kirara pawed at the envelope in my hands, telling me to open it already. I slid my fingernail under the seal and popped envelope open.

_My dear taiji-ya_

_I'll remember to never doubt you ever._

_Till we meet again._

_Miroku_

…………

A/N- And now chapter two's been redone. If you noticed any differences from the original versions, good for you! I've seem to have lost all traces of the original chapter, so I was making it up as I went along. But all in all, I think that this version is better than the other.


End file.
